Vietnamese Cuisine in Marin

Since there are now three restaurants in Marin serving Vietnamese food, I thought it time for a page featuring the choices.

Corte Madera
La Maison de la Reine

San Rafael
Pho Viet
Saigon Village

Pho Viet

We're lucky to have this authentic Vietnamese family run restaurant in Marin.  Owners Hoa and KimSa Lam have opened Pho Viet with  Cang Nguyen, Hoa's brother, managing daily operations with the former chef of Le Cheval in Oakland,  Tan Le in the kitchen.  Guests are always greeted warmly here and there always seems to be a stream of hungry fans coming in and out of the restaurant.

I was greeted warmly and urged to try the barbecued quail.  I've had quail before and usually don't choose them because of their small-boned nature.  I succumbed thinking that these must be something special to have them so enthusiastically offered.  And that was the right choice.  These temperature-hot pieces were so succulent and the tasty fresh lemon-pepper sauce did little to cool these, however it added a pleasant tang to the dish.  I would order these again without prompting.

What I had my mind on when driving to lunch was the vermicelli bowl, this one was barbecue chicken with egg roll.  Light and satisfying I was  happy with my 'bun'.  I actually had not planned to blog the visit, but thought that it was worth sharing and snapped these with my trusty phone camera without flash.

The staff also encouraged me to try their avocado shake, which was smooth and the little tapioca balls added fun and contrast to the drink.

The latest restaurant inspection results for Pho Viet are here.

Find address/phone number/directions on Anna's Map.

Friendly and efficient

One of my friends, Stephanie, and I enjoyed a leisurely lunch at Saigon Village the other day. Stephanie had not experienced Saigon Village yet. It was fun to introduce her to a place that is not only friendly and efficient, but that has a great selection of dishes for carnivores and vegivores alike.

I decided to try the Vegetarian Beef with Broccoli & Mushrooms. It was so delicious and so real that I wondered if there was a mix up in the kitchen!

Stephanie found her favorite dish on the menu, BBQ Chicken & Egg Roll Vermicelli. She loved it, and took some of the generous portion home. She was also impressed by flavor of the simple broth that accompanies the dish.

Restaurant Inspection Results

Critical: 0

Noncritical: 1

Last inspected: 9/25/2009

Previously reviewed:
July 18, 2007

Find address/phone number/directions on Anna's Map.

Let the celebrating begin!

Well it's here. One of those birthdays with a -0- behind it. And I don't feel a bit different. Well, maybe a little shocked. Daniel kicked off a week of celebration between my birthday and Christmas for treating me to dinner and later a drink yesterday evening for my birthday. We went to Da Nang in Albany. It's unique (to my knowledge) in that it serves both a Thai and Vietnamese menu.

We started with a Vietnamese spring roll appetizer. It was thumbs up for me, and thumbs down for Daniel who didn't like the lettuce inside. No worries, I ate his share!

Daniel ordered from the Thai side, choosing spicy green beans with shrimp and scallops. I tried a bite, and we both gave it thumbs up. The green beans were cooked perfectly tender crisp.

I went for the Vietnamese vegetarian birds nest with fried tofu, gluten and fresh vegetables over crispy noodles. I adored this, and would drive over the Richmond Bridge just to have this again! The only missteps here were a little less than attentive service and having to ask to change out the plates. Mine had a big chip out of it, and Daniel's looked like it had cigarette ashes on it. The food was fabulous though.

After Da Nang, still being young enough (who knows tomorrow!) to have some energy left, Daniel took me to the Albatross. This was quite a cozy pub, and we enjoyed .50 all you can eat popcorn and some pear cider (hard). I overheard a man at the other end of the table say to his friends, "I'm poorer than I've ever been, yet I'm the happiest at the same time!" I feel the same, relative poverty can be a tool to balance one's life again, as long as it doesn't go over the line into abject poverty, a sure recipe for misery.

An old favorite dish

On yesterday's dreary day in Marin, with the all day cloud cover and mist, I longed for an old favorite. And I'd just had a wonderful time talking over coffee with a good friend around the corner at Barnes & Noble's in-store Starbucks. And the coffee was free. Not far down the way is La Maison de la Reine.

I had to have the Vegetarian Imperial Roll and Fried Tofu Vermicelli. This is one of my favorite Vietnamese dishes. The thin rice noodles are mixed with cut up fresh vegetables such as cucumber, lettuce and carrots, while topped with a number of goodies. I had the vegetarian version. You can read more about the versatile bun here. The staff was pleasant yet unobtrusive throughout, making it remain a great place to enjoy Vietnamese food in both atmosphere and taste.

Previously reviewed:
January 18, 2008
May 31, 2007
March 20, 2007

Fables have their upside

Sachiko and I joined two new friends, Ikuko and Miyako in San Francisco's Finanical District for a dreams-do-come-true dinner at Unicorn. The restaurant has the perfect moniker since it is hard to find the essence of legends very often at eating establishments. Unicorn is 'Pan Asian Cuisine', yet it has definite fingerprints of Vietnamese flavors.

Tuna Cheviche with Green Mango, Lotus Rootlets and Basil-Nuoc Nam Salsa

The Tuna Cheviche was a wonderful blend of fruit, fresh raw tuna and exotic lotus rootlets, topped with jalapeno peppers. We all enjoyed a taste of it.

New Zealand Green Lip Mussels in Coconut Wasabi Bisque

We all ooohed and ahhhed over the green lip mussels and the smooth bisque it sat in. I would definitely order this one again.

Albino Rolls (Dungeness crab meat and scallop) - Ponzu Sauce

The Albino Rolls were a taste treat with Dungeness crab meat and scallop tucked inside rice wrappers and deep fried.

Cubed Filet Mignon with Blue Lake Green Beans (Niman Ranch)

I did the heavy partaking of the Blue Lake Green Beans which accompanied tender cubes of Filet Mignon.

Butter Fish in Banana Leaf with Light Soy Brine

We all enjoyed the subtle flavors of the Butter Fish in Banana Leaf, which was infused with coconut milk and other herbs. It was very tender, flaky and delicious.

Spicy Mango Tofu and Chinese Eggplant

This tofu dish was an unusual blend of Chinese eggplant, mango and fried tofu cubes. It went quite well with the jasmine rice that was served.

Edamame

We women were having such a good time, and sipping our wine slowly, so ordered some more food to keep the good times going. This edamame appetizer was warm and salted appropriately.

Rice Paper Wraps with Hot Water

Our vermicelli dish first came with rice paper and hot water.

Steamed Vermicelli with Rice Paper Wrap (Chicken)

Then followed by the stuffing of fresh vegetables and chicken over the steamed vermicelli. The vermicelli was thoughtfully pre-cut so that it was easy to portion in the wraps we dipped in the hot water to soften. This was a fun dish to share with friends, and tasted fresh!

Ciao Bella Golden Plum Ice Cream and Ginger Pear poached in Port with Cinnamon-Passion Fruit Sorbet

The finale was a scoop of Ciao Bella Golden Plum Ice Cream and a Ginger Pear poached in Port with some Cinnamon-Passion Fruit sorbet surrounding it. We took a leisurely three hours and three bottles of lovely wine to travel through the meal laughing together. The venue was beautifully decorated with glass art and the service was impeccable. Unicorn is highly recommendable from many aspects!

"Restaurant"

That's what Tudo means in Vietnamese. And Tudo was quite a cool find, right on Clement Street in San Francisco.

I tried the Salt Plum Soda, which I actually didn't care for, but I'm sure some would. I loved the use of a red onion skin as a votive cover.

Dad throughly enjoyed his lemonade. He said it tasted quite fresh.

We both enjoyed the creamy Crab Ragoon. The mayo sauce was as spicy as promised.

The Crab Spring Roll with shrimp was fresh and pretty and tasted as good as it looked.

The Giant Prawns with Garlic Noodles was an aptly named dish. The big prawns were grilled and superb.

The Steam Fish in Banana Leaf with Vegetables was amazing. The fish was a white 'basa', and now I know what it means 'to pick the bones'. We went after all the little pieces of sweetly flavored tender fish flesh.

The Banana Spring Rolls with Coconut Ice Cream were a very sweet and tasty finish.

And we were surprised with a treat on the house of a very rich custard with an amazingly deep caramel sauce. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this place for its special dishes and friendly staff.

Gourmet Vietnamese

I met Sachiko in the city the other evening for an adventure at Pot de Pho, on Geary. San Francisco has many Vietnamese food choices, and this one is one of the more upscale. It's also mostly organic.

These Vegetarian Crispy Rolls were quite delicious.

This Green Papaya Salad shocked me with thin slivers of organic pork after taking it upon the recommendation of the server as a 'vegetarian' dish with some seafood. The dish was quite delicious and well-composed, especially if you eat pork.

Sachiko heard from the manager that this Seafood Sate is a very good alternative to regular pho, and still has rice noodles as the base. This was the hit of the evening. The seafood flavors were nicely blended in with a delicious reddish sauce.

And our curiosity drove us to ordering the Chocolate Lavender Custard. It was smooth with a hint of lavender in the chocolate goodness. Put this on your list of places to try if you enjoy good Vietnamese food with extra care given to the ingredients.

Vietnamese veggie fare. I stopped by La Maison de la Reine for dinner with my friend Sachiko one evening, and we were both in the mood for light eating. The staff were friendly and inviting and we enjoyed sitting in the heated sun room.

We started with some fresh rolls, which were filled with crisp vegetables and fresh shrimp. These were the perfect bites to wet the appetite for the warm pho to come.

Next came the fresh add-ons for the pho, a heaping plate. All you could imagine wanting of cilantro, basil, jalepeno peppers, mung bean sprouts, lime slices and tangy sauces.

Then came the main event, the steam hot pho chock full of fresh veggies and tofu. Knowing that the chicken broth is made from scratch, we departed from having a vegetarian experience to a veggie experience with the light and flavorful broth flavoring the colorful ingredients. It was great, especially on a rainy day, as it was.

I reviewed this restaurant previously on May 31, 2007 and March 20, 2007.

Cheap and good. Dad and I paid another visit to Saigon Village, and noticed that they have put together a separate vegetarian menu. Well in this July heat, we couldn't resist trying it out.

Dad tried the vegetarian vermicelli bowl that had a mixture of seitan and crispy tofu toppings with a veggie spring roll. He said it was perfect.

I ventured to try their Lotus salad, which I imagined had lotus root as part of its ingredients. Ooops. I was wrong. It was fresh finely slivered cabbage of green and purple, with some of that mixture that was on Dad's, except there were larger slices of seitan and crispy tofu in a scattered topping. The light and sweet dressing was refreshing. The prices here are actually cheap, and the staff are friendly, helpful and prompt. What more could we ask?

Bun. In March I reviewed the pho at La Maison de la Reine, and this time Dad and I went back for a warm weather lunch. A Vietnamese friend introduced me to Bun, or vermicelli salad, a few years ago, and I was hooked. These cool noodles are especially good in summer.

So naturally, I ordered vermicelli noodles with crisp tofu and vegetarian imperial roll. This is a great vegan treat. The waitress queried if I was a vegetarian. The response was no of course, but logically, as an omnivore, I should be eating more plant based food than anything else since there are more varieties to try than meats.

My Dad ordered the Lemongrass Chicken, which he enjoyed to the last piece on his plate.

I also enjoy the fresh drinks here, and ordered their fresh lemonade. It comes in a tall glass and tastes like what is called a "Lemon squash" in Japan - not too sweet. The staff here has always greeted me warmly and served a nice meal. Before I started on my quest to try all restaurants in Marin, these used to be a frequent hang out.